Are you strong enough not to get your own way?

Romans 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.2 Each of us should please his neighbour for his good, to build him up.

The Bible turns life upside down. I was struck reading Romans 14 & 15 today with a friend that strength is shown not in our ability to get our own way, but in ability to give way for the sake of others. The strong person is not someone who pleases themselves, but rather someone who seeks to please others. The strong person is not someone who is served by those they rule over, but rather someone who serves others.

Of course Paul’s example in Romans is Jesus. He was the ultimate humble servant. Though he could calm a storm with a word, he bore a cross in silence. Though he kept the Law perfectly, he bore our sin completely. Though he had every right to judge and condemn us, he came to die and save us.

So on everything that doesn’t matter to Jesus I should be willing to give way to help others. And on everything that does matter to Jesus I must never give way so that I help others.